Making Memories

Guest Designer: Lowri McNabb

Hi Everyone – Lowri McNabb from PaperVine here and I am thrilled to be sharing these projects on the Making Memories blog today.

From Christmas Day to Valentine’s Day

We all have scraps of paper and embellishments left over from our Christmas projects, so I thought I would use some of the fabulous red and cream colored leftovers I had from the Twinkle Collection to create a couple of simple Valentines Favors.

I made these candy holders using some of the Words paper and then added some plain red organza ribbon along with the gorgeous spotted red and cream ribbon from the Trims and Brads embellishment pack. 

One of the flowers from the Twinkle Baubles embellishment pack completes the simple but elegant decoration. These would be great as a little gift for a teacher, filled with some lovely pink candy hearts.

These flowers are a great way to decorate gifts and packages too.  I used a rosette die to create the flower and one of the Twinkle Baubles in the centre. The over-size rhinestones in this pack are fabulous!

Get Ahead for Next Year!

Instead of packing away all the other Christmas leftovers, I decided to get the jump on next year and create a quick December Daily album.

Using all the scraps of paper, stickers, journal pages and embellishments I was quickly able to put together this book. I used plain white cardstock as the base and punched holes in each page so I could use book rings for binding, therefore make it easy to add to next year.

I often find myself with tiny stickers left over on a sheet – and they are perfect for adding splashes of color to white-based pages. These stickers are so much fun and the  baubles add some great dimension to the cover.

I used the left over pages from the journaling book as inserts into the album. They will be great for writing all my Christmas lists next year! 

The wonderful combination of fresh red and green colors in this collection makes for a really clean look on the white background - perfect for the Summer Christmas time here in New Zealand.

I hope this has given you a few ideas on how you can use up those Christmas bits and pieces you have left over. I would love for you to follow my blog at PaperVine or just drop in and say Hi :-) 

 

Guest Designer Shelley May

Shelley May here on the Making Memories blog - honored to be featured in December!!! I have been a fan of Making Memories products since I first started scrapbooking back in 2005. I love the coordinating items that come out with every line and this newest Christmas line from Making Memories called TWINKLE is no disappointment! Each package of embellishments has so many little bits and pieces to choose from - you really are getting a great deal of product for your dollar. 
 

When I was approached for a feature, I wanted to take a thrifty approach for my project, as this holiday season is going to be a very creative one for my family. We are down to one income and looking for every way possible we can be thrifty, creative, and maybe even recycle as much as possible! With all of the food containers I toss into the recycle bin each week - I got an idea... what if I use some of them for packaging for little homemade goodies at Christmastime? Sweets, cookies, all different little bits of goodness? So I began setting the recyclables aside... in my studio! I had a nice little stockpile and decided to use this for this project! For this project I used a Laughing Cow Cheese container, a frosting container, and a paper bag that our apples came in (hello cute little new and upcycled gift bag!!!)

I then got to work with my Twinkle line of Making Memories products. These items went together so quickly and simply. I made all three items in under an hour! First up is the Laughing Cow container - turned into an ornament! I covered the top and bottom with paper, inked the edges, used ribbon for the loop, and used embellishments to - well - embellish. And of course, used pop dots for dimension. I love dimension on all my projects! And are you kidding me with this cuteness? I just love it if I do say so myself!

 

Next, is just a frosting container. I simply wrapped it with paper, then another layer, some ribbon, "pop-dotted" (yes, I made a verb out of pop-dot) a sentiment embellishment sticker, covered the lid with paper, and added some buttons, and it's ready to be filled with cookies or candies and given to a special someone, because as it says, It's better to give than to receive!

Last, is my easy as Apple Pie Gift bag - made from an Apple Bag! Yep - that's right! The bag my apples came in.. I loved! I kept it, added a square of paper, some ribbon, a sentiment sticker, and some die cut embellishments, "pop-dotted", and a tag, "To: Mommy, From: Santa", and it's done! YES! You can do it too... it's THAT easy!

I hope you are finding many ways to recycle and be creative this holiday season! I encourage you to look around and pay attention to all the things you throw away or recycle. Chances are you have projects waiting to happen right in your recycle bin and garbage cans! Follow me on my journey while I do the same this holiday season! We will be crafting and making most of our gifts this year. Follow me at ScrappingGoodness.

 

Guest Designer AnnaMarie Mondro

Hi, my name is AnnaMarie Mondro, and I am so honored to be featured as a Guest Designer on the Making Memories blog!

Christmas is truly my *favorite* holiday, so when I was asked to showcase a layout featuring the new Twinkle line, I was in LOVE and knew exactly what photos I was going to use! I’ve been saving these photos for awhile now, waiting on the perfect line and feel of colors. These photos of my son’s first Christmas were just perfect for the range of beautiful reds and greens offered within this festive line. And one of the things I love most about Making Memories products are the double-sided papers which offer such a range in gorgeous patterns and colors, and for a scrapper like me, who loves to play with layers and bits and pieces of patterned paper, it is a perfect combination!

 

Another thing that I love about Making Memories is the choice of embellishments that color-coordinate so nicely with the papers, and which offer such nice options in terms of texture, dimensionality, and details. Not to mention the bling factor – oh MY! And yes, even though it is a *boy* layout, I still love to add some bling and shimmer to my pages. J Between the sparkly baubles and glittery buttons, shimmer die-cuts, and bling alpha, there are so many options for really enhancing the beautiful colors in this line and making my page POP!

And cannot forget to point out the *awesome* glitter boarder tape! The tape is so versatile, allowing you to trim it to a variety of desired sizes, or you can simply trim out the “pieces” you want for your layout!

  

Thank you Making Memories for allowing me this opportunity!

 

Guest Designer Michelle La Grue

Today we are excited to have Michelle La Grue as Making Memories’ guest designer. Michelle created TWO holiday projects that you will love. Both of these project use Making Memories' new Twinkle collection.

These Christmas Lanterns were created using 3oz Dixie cups!

1. De-constructed a cup to make a paper template of the sides.
2. Trace the template on the 12x12 paper and you can easily get 5 in a row down one side. 
3. Cut each of these out and using a wet glue, I applied the patterned paper to the sides of the cups and tucked the edges under the lip of the cup.
4. Use a variety of border punches,  to create a punched edge and glue them to the rounded lip of the cup.
5. To fit the small led lights, mark a small dot on the bottom of each cup with a pencil, and then using a hole punch. I punched a small hole on the bottom of the cup.
6. Embellish the lanterns with embellishments.

This star garland will take pride of place on my door this year.  I cut a circle template using a cardboard box that some scrapbooking papers arrived in, and I used some batting (padding) to wrap around the cardboard to provide a nice base for the garland.  The circle was then wrapped in red satin ribbon, to give it a bit of a luxurious texture and look.

I used my star shaped Nestabilities to cut 4 different size stars.  Each star was scored lightly from tip to base and then folded into the 3D star shape.  I adhered them to the circle garland with my glue gun and topped some of them with some lovely festive red matt gems.  A bow was all that was needed to finish the project.

 

Guest Designer Tina Walker

Today we have Tina Walker as Making Memories' guest designer.

Agreat way to use up all the scraps of your patterned paper is to layer thin strips of several coordinating papers under your photo and on the edges of your background paper.  This technique works well when your background paper is a solid, coordinating color.  It is a fun way to add a little color without overwhelming the page.  I used several papers from the Noel collection (both patterned paper and background paper) to make this layout.

To add more subtle texture to your background, you can make your own paint mist by mixing acrylic paint and water in a spray bottle and spraying it over a stencil.  To add more dimension to the background, I took the cap of a bottle (that just happened to be the same size as my stencil circles) and added random areas of paint to the sprayed circles.

To add an old, vintage feel to your layout, layering random pieces of fabric and stitching them in place adds texture.  I also like to leave the ends of the sewing thread on my page (instead of trimming close to the sewing) for added texture dimension.

 

 

Another easy way to use up your patterned paper scraps is to use both the positive and negative of your favorite punch. To create a simple, fast layout, follow these quick steps:

1. Add random paint splatters to background paper.
2. Punch out several shapes, line them up in a row next to your photo and stitch them down.
3. Add several pieces of paper behind photo and adhere to page.
4. Add a couple of the negatives from the punched shapes and ‘hide’ them behind a scrap piece of patterned paper at the bottom of the page.  Stitch them in place.
5. Staple several strands of bakers twine across page.
6. Add title and you are done.

 

Guest Designer Kimberly Seldomridge

Today Making Memories’ guest designer Kimberly Seldomridge created a project that you can create for your home this holiday season.

I was so honored to do this project for Making Memories. I have been a huge fan for a long time. I needed a new wreath for the front door and thought this was the perfect project to do. I had the wreath form and some fabulous scraps from a few different lines. I used Making Memories’ Classic Holiday, Fa La La and Noel collections on this wreath. I love how the different lines work together.

I wrapped a straw wreath (with the wrapper left on) with a jute ribbon and pushed in the sparkly tree brads, it was easy to press them into the straw. The letters and paper I used to make the banner are from the Classic Holiday page kit. I used the paper and stickers from this kit to make the pinwheel flowers as well. The metal sign from the Noel line finished it off. I love the colors and how simple it is. You could use those scraps you have left over that you never know whether to keep or throw away...here's an idea!

 

Guest Designer Megan Aaron

We are so happy to have Megan Aaron as Making Memories' guest designer!

Megan created this adorable gift box and card - perfect for this spooky season. She explains how she created this project.

I created this spooky gift set using the Making Memories' Toil and Trouble collection. My daughter's birthday is right near Halloween, so I am always looking for fun party favors and little treats. The favor box is just plain black cardstock, so, it is easy to duplicate. Then I dressed it up with some Toil and Trouble papers, a little tag and a bow on top. The bow is 1 inch wide strips of paper rolled into sort of cones, to make the petals with the ends of each petal stapled. Then glue dots hold the first layer and second layer (3/4 inch strips) petals to each other. The second layer is attached with foam tape for dimension. Finally, a simple loop finishes off the top.

More Halloween Decor by Keisha Campbell

Too many fun ideas.....

--------------------------------------------------*---Too many fun ideas-I can't seem to stop! I bought this black wreath last year for an idea I thought would work-it didn't!! Now that I am on this accordion flower kick, this year I had an idea-that worked. I used all Making Memories papers for the wreath & garland-most of  the papers are from Toil & Trouble line. I just love decorating for holidays-I even have 8 more accordion flowers on my studio room floor I have to figure out what to do with. I might need a bigger house! Enjoy...

 

Halloween Decorations

Today Keisha Campbell shares some homemade Halloween decor. You will love how her style take Halloween decor to an entirely different level.

------------------------------------------*Over the weekend I made these boxes & the witch hat, using Making Memories papers & stickers...and my Slice to cut the masks! I love Wendy Addison & Nicol Sayre's work so much, and they were in my head as I did these.

Guest Designer Stasia Sloma

Hi. My name is Stasia Sloma. I’m excited to be Making Memories’ guest designer today.

Who knew Halloween would become one of my favorite holidays. I am not a big fan of dressing up for the holiday myself, but I do love dressing up the house and of course scrapbooking photos of little ones in their Halloween costumes. I decided to make a wall hanging to hang up in my home to add to my Halloween home decor.  

The wall hanging was made with two Slice Design Cards - Basic Elements and Vintage Findings. I used cardstock to fill in the negative spaces of the owl and pumpkins. I added each piece to the wall hanging with Stampin' Dimensionals to add dimension to the project. I die-cut the trim and embossed the spider web background. Stamped sentiments and embellishments finish the project off.
 

Products to make the wall hanging:

• Slice Cordless Design Cutter
• Design Cards: Basic Elements and Vintage Findings
• Full Calendar, Black Ink, Cardstock, Designer paper, accessories, tools: Stampin’ Up!
• Accessories: Queen & Co. Accessories